How to Make Quick and Easy Drop Biscuits

A traditional drop biscuit requires just five ingredients, but with its buttery, salty flavor, and cloud-like bite, the final result tastes anything but ordinary. While simple, there are still nearly endless variations from one coveted family recipe to the next, each with intense loyalties and deep-seated tastes and opinions attached. With my hat off to your time-honored recipes and trustworthy techniques, I'm here today to present my own drop biscuit thoughts and recipe.

Fannie Farmer, of the famed Boston School of Cooking, called drop biscuits "Emergency Biscuits," which is incredibly appropriate considering that all you need to make them is about 25 minutes and a minimally stocked pantry. In fact, because of their speedy nature, they are a valued go-to item even for professional bakers and chefs.

To make them, I start by cutting the butter into lima bean-size pieces and reserving them in the refrigerator to keep them nice and cold. After mixing my dry ingredients together (flour, salt, and baking powder), I add the butter and work it quickly with my hands, rubbing the butter into the flour just enough: over-mix and the result is tough; under-mix and the result is dry, not tender.

[Photograph: Daniel Gritzer]

This step can also be done in a food processor, requiring just a few short pulses. Very similar to a scone (a scone is essentially a biscuit with more sugar and an egg), you want to keep pieces of solid, visible butter chucks in there to give you a tender, rather than dry or chewy, final texture. The food processor is a great option when you're working with really large batches of dough, or if you're working in a particularly warm environment. Otherwise, rubbing in the butter by hand gives you more control over the mixing. It also means fewer dishes, which is always a big plus in my world.

After that, I carefully mix in the liquid with a fork to create a dough that's shaggy and moist. The beauty in the drop biscuit is that is requires much less handling than its super-flaky cousin, so there's much less risk of overworking the dough and developing too much gluten. Some recipes call for buttermilk, others for milk; since I tend to have whole milk on hand more often, I stay in line with Fannie's "emergency biscuit" philosophy with a milk-based approach. After all, part of the advantage of these biscuits is how easy they are to throw together with ingredients that most of us have available all the time.

Egg produced drop biscuits that were too spongy and cake-like, while cream resulted in overly dense drop biscuits. Whole milk is the way to go! [Photograph: Marissa Sertich-Velie]

Unlike our flaky biscuit recipe, an egg is not included in these drop biscuits. Although I played around with a several variations using egg, the egg always seemed to make a drop biscuit that was overly spongy and cake-like, rather than soft and tender. I also experimented with different ratios of heavy cream to milk, but the higher fat content from the cream, although delicious, created a denser final product. In the end, the simple five ingredients—butter, flour, baking powder, salt and milk—yielded the best results.

Drop Biscuits, Step By Step

Step 1: Cut the butter

Using a knife or bench knife, chop the butter into lima bean-sized pieces. Transfer the butter to the refrigerator to keep it nice and cold before the mixing process.

Step 2: Mix the dry ingredients

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. If you want to flavor your biscuits with herbs, or use them for a sweet application, this is the time to add things like rosemary, chili flakes, a tablespoon of sugar, cheese, or whatever else you desire.

Step 3: Incorporate the butter

[Photograph: Daniel Gritzer]

Toss the butter into the dry ingredients. Using your fingers (or a pastry blender) rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Do this quickly, so the heat of your hands doesn't melt the butter.

Step 4: Add wet to dry

[Photograph: Marissa Sertich-Velie]

Add the milk and stir with a fork until the mixture just comes together into a slightly sticky, shaggy dough.

[Photograph: Daniel Gritzer]

Step 5: Portion

[Photograph: Marissa Sertich-Velie]

Using a teaspoon (or small ice cream scoop), scoop walnut sized balls of dough onto a sheet pan. On the sheet pan, you can use parchment, or simply coat it lightly with cooking spray or butter to prevent the biscuits from sticking.

Step 6: Bake!

[Photograph: Daniel Gritzer]

Bake the little beauties at 400°F for about 15 minutes, or until they're golden brown.

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About the Author

Born and raised in Ohio, Marissa Sertich Velie grew up eating pierogies and brats, but her insatiable sweet tooth eventually led her The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY.

Marissa has been writing about food on her blog, Dessertation, since 2009, while working her way through the kitchens of Ohio, Massachusetts and New York. She is currently earning her Master's in Food Studies at NYU.

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